Refrigeration



vJune 3, '1941.

W.V H. KITTO REFRIGERAT ION Filed June 20. 1938 :Nvsmon Waam 'H Killa m wW` ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 1941 REFRIGERATION William H. Kitto, C anton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company,.North Canton, Ohio; a corporation of Ohio Application June 20, 1938, Serial No. 214,657

(ol. frz-108.5)

9 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to means for removing ice cubes from a, domestic refrigerator tray. `In the past it has :been necessary to melt the cubes loose from the tray-by the application of heat or to remove them by complicated leverage mechanism requiring the removal of the entire grid assembly so that it was necessary to remove all the cubes from a tray at the same time. If only a few cubes were needed, this necessitated the storing of the remainder of the cubes or their wastage. In :addition to this the melting of the cubes from the tray by the application of heat, resultedxin a further wastage of ice. In using the prior art mechanical leverage devices, it was necessary to anchor or hold the tray down while the cubes were being released.l The prior art mechanical devices designed to remove ice cubes from the tray are also cumbersome and complicated in operation and costly to manufacture.

Accordingly,- it is an Iobject of this invention to provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which the ice cubes may be released with a minimum of effort and which is simple and easy to manu- E facture. A

Another object of this invention i-s to provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which it is not necessary to remove the grid `assembly from the tray to remove the cubes from the tray and grid assembly.

Another object of the invention is to `provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which one, two or more ice cubes may be removed from the tray as desired.

'Another object ofthe invention is to provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which one ice cube may be removed singly or in which two may be removed simultaneously.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which it is not necessary to anchor or hold the tray while re-` f-orce on the Cube tending to release the bond between it and the other walls of the cube .comypartment.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ice tray and grid assembly for, and method of, releasing ice cubes in which a tension stress is applied to separate the bond between the cube and one wall of the compartment and a shear stress is applied to separate the bond between the cubes' and the other walls .of the compartment in releasing the ice cu-be from its compart' ment.

Another object of the invention is to Provide anice tray and grid assembly in .which an ice cube may be raised in a generally vertical direction so that it is accessible for easy removal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grid assembly for anice tray, capable of being y applied to a standard ice tray.

Another object of the invention is to Provide an ice tray and grid assembly in which the grid assembly has a deformable mem-ber to release ice cubes individually or in groups.

. Another object of the invention is to provide an ice tray and grid assembly having a manually operable lever with a foot extending into the cube compartment to raise the .cube from the tray and grid assembly.

Another'object of the invention is -to provide a tray and grid assembly in which the cube compartments have substantially parallel walls some of which are inclined upwardly and outwardly to facilitate removal of the ice cubes.

Another object vof the invention is to provide a grid 'assembly for an ice tray having a hollow deformable central partition enclosing an air space with means yproviding for the ingress and egress of the air from the enclosed space.

Another object of the invention is rto provide a grid assembly for an ice tray made of liexible non-metallic material, having cube release mechanism molded therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grid assembly for ice tray having a central partition member of deformable non-metallic material with metallic cross partition plates molded therein.

. Another object of the invention is to provide a grid assembly for ice tray with a hollow deformable central .partition member of non-metallic material with deformable ends bonded thereto.

Another Iobject of the invention is to provide a grid assembly for an ice tray having a V shaped central partition member of deformable mateof a domestic refrigerator.

. rial with a deformable cover member secured to the mouth of the V.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:`

Figure 1 is a perspective View of an embodi- A longitudinally extending partition member are made in one pieceand extend through 'the air space in the central partition member as shown at 30. A wire rod, 3|, may extend between the various laterally extending partition members in order to hold them against movement with respect to each other.

Molded or otherwise secured in the side walls 24 and 25 of the central partition member I3, between the various laterally extending partiy tion members and between the end partition Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 shows a diagram of forces present when a pair of cubes are Ibeing released.

The invention herein disclosed comprises a sheet metal tray generally indicated at 'I Il adapted to be inserted in the freezing compartment It is provided with a bottom II, front and rear walls I2Land .I3, respectively,`and side walls I4. The side walls I4 are inclined upwardly and outwardly as shown `in Figure 2 and the upper edges of the front,

rear and side walls are rbent outwardly and downwardly to form a rib as lshown at I5. The rib I5 is extended. outwardly farther above the front wall I2 to form a handle I 6.

Removably disposed in tray I0 :is a grid assembly generally indicated at ill, which comprises a central partition member vI8 and laterally extending partition members I9,r 20,.2I, 212 and 23 on each side of the central partition member I 8.' The central partition member I8 is made of flexible material such as rubber and is made hollow so that its side walls 24 and 25 can be easily pressed towards each other. An apertureV 251s provided in the end walls 21 of the central partition member I8 so as to provide for the ingress and egress of air from the cavity air when the side walls are pressed together.

Thecentral partition member I8 can be molded in one piece with the exception of the end members 21 which can be cemented thereto after the mold is removed. Another way of making the central partition member I8 is to split the side walls 24 and 25 away from each other at the bottom to remove the core and then cement these edges together again. In Figure 4, a third way of making the central partition member IB is shown. In\ this modification, the side walls 24 and 25 are molded in one piece in lthe shape of a V with grooves 28 extending longitudinally of each side wall 24 and 25 near the top. A top member 29 is inserted in the grooves 2-8 to completely enclose the inside air space except for the aperture 26. The top member 29 may, if necessary, be cemented in the groove 28.

The rubber of the central partition may also be made in a fiat sheet, curved'to the position shown in Figure 2, the lower edges cemented or vulcanized together and the end members cemented in place.

vThe laterally extending partition plates I9. 20, 2|, 22 and 23 may be made of rubber, made integral with the side walls 24 and 25 of the central rpartition I8, or they may be made of suitable metal molded into the side walls 24 and 25. One way of molding .the laterally extending partition members into the side wallsv of the central partition member is shown in Figa.

ure 4. 'In this modification, the laterally extending partition members on each side of the so that it will not be necessary to compress the 4 Vthe side walls 24 and 25 of the longitudinally extending partition member I8, extend upwardly and outwardly in parallelism with the side walls I4 of the tray when in an unflexed position.

In operation, if it is desiredL -to remove a single ice cube from the tray it is only necessary, for example, to press downwardly on the edge of 'the tray at A as shown in Figure V1 and press inwardly simultaneously on one of the handle portions 35, such as D and the left -hand cube only will be removed. If it is desired to remove two cubes, two handle portions 35 such as C and D shown in Figure v1 are pressed toward each other which lif-ts two cubes from the tray. In this manner, any or all oi' the cubes can be removed from the tray. Two' of the cubes are shown in raised position in Figure 3 with 'the lcentral partition member I8 pressed together either 24 or 25 on the central partition :member is torn from the cube and at the same time the foot portion 34 exerts an upward pressure onv the cube. This induces a tearing stress on the bond between the central partition I8 and the cube and a tension stress on the bond between the cube and the bottom of the tray. vAt the same time vthe force exerted by the foot, 34, induces a shear stress on the bond between the cube and the remaining three walls of the compartment.-

It is also to be noted that all forces exerted in removing two cubes from the tr-ay are balanced against each other so that there is no force -tending to move` the tray along ,or from the surface upon which it rests nor to lift the grid assembly from the tray. Figure 5 of the drawing` shows a diagrammatic representation of the forces present when two cubes are moved from the tray simultaneously. Suppose force F is applied to each of the handle portions 35 of levers 32 and 33. This will tend to rotate each of the levers about a fulcrum with the result that the resistance of the ice cube to movement represented bythe force F1 will press downwardly, on the end of eachfoot portion 34. The resultan-t of the yforces -F and F1 can be resolved int vertical the grid assembly from the tray is a downward pressure on the bottom of the tray. This renand including a longitudinal partition and lever means forming an integral part of said partition ders it unnecessary to hold or anchor the tray against movement when releasing two cubes sifmultaneously. It is also`to be noted that no force is required to 'hold the grid assembly in the tray.

From the above it can be seen that any or all the cubes can be easily removedI from the tray without the necessity of removing the grid assembly from the tray. This is o'f particular advantage when only one or two cubes are needed frozen condition and can be kept for future use. The grid assembly need not'be made removable but can be secured to the tray in any desired manner. The preferred form, however, is to make the grid assembly removable so that the. tray and grid assembly can be readily cleaned,-

and the grid assembly can be applied to standard trays. v

'I'he hollow central partition' member renders l it easy to press levers l2 and 33 toward each other to release the cubes and the fact that the air space is entirely enclosed. except for the aperture 26, renders it certain that no water can get into the air space and prevent operation of the levers.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that this invention provides .a simple andl easy way to manufacture ice tray and grid assemblies in which ice cubes can be removed easily and` with a minimum of effort and bother.

While I have illustrated and described only one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as iliustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do and mounted thereon and extending into said cube compartments, said lever means being so mounted as to raise ice cubes from their compart. ments wh n pressure is applied thereto.

3. An ic cube tray and'grid assembly having a hollow covered deformable central partition ensince the remainder remain in their original closing an lspace with means providing an inlet and outlet'for air.

4. An ice cube tray grid assembly having a central partition of deformable material with levers positioned along said partition for raising ice cubes. v

5. An ice cube tray grid assembly comprising, a central partition of deformable non-metallic material and metallic cross partition members mold ed therein. l

6. An ice cube tray grid assembly comprising a hollow central partition of deformable material and end closures of deformable material bonded thereto.

7. An ice cube tray grid assembly comprising a hollow central partition -of deformable material, said partition comprising a portion V shaped in section and a cover member secured thereto.

8. In combination, anice tray, a grid assembly positioned therein to form ice compartments, and

not wish to be limited to the exact disclosure but to include all equivalent variations except as limited by the scope of the appended claims.

lI claim:

1. In combination, an ice tray, a grid assembly positioned therein to form ice cube compartments, said grid assemblycomprising. a longitudinally extending partition of deformable material and means on said deformablepartition for `lifting cubes from their compartments, individually or in groups.

2. In combinatioman ice tray; a grid assembly )positioned therein form ice cube compartments a leverage system forming a permanent part of said grid assembly for breaking the bond be- -tween the ice `and compartment walls, said leverage system being so constructed and arranged that oppositely acting forces may be appliedy thereto during the breaking ofthe bond and all reactive forces acting upon said tray other than in a downward direction are balanced within the grid assembly itself.

9. In combination, an ice tray, a grid assembly positioned therein'to form ice compartments, anda pair of levers mounted on said grid assembly for breaking the bond between the ice and com- Apartment walls, said levers being so constructed 

